Reading the question posted here left me with a more general question:

Given the professional title and name: Dr. (First Name)(Last Name), is there some way to differentiate between the holder of a philosophical doctorate and a medical doctor? Wouldn't it be more appropriate for a PhD holder to have the title (First Name)(Last Name), PhD?

You basically can't. Medical doctors study for their basic degree almost the same time as anybody else for their post-graduate degree. You simply use Dr for both. (But I'm not quite sure, that's why I only comment in this manner. If someone knows for sure, go ahead and answer the question!)
– yo'Oct 29 '14 at 12:11

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The title Doctor derives from its use for PhD holders; it is therefore entirely appropriate for PhDs to use it.
– Jack AidleyOct 29 '14 at 13:30

4

In some countries medical docs use 'Dr. med' and other doctors don't use their title much.
– Cape CodeOct 29 '14 at 13:37

23

Note that in some countries a PhD is not required to be called "Doctor". for example in Italy you get the title of "Dottore" (literally Doctor) when you get your bachelors degree. In other words: don't trust titles of people that aren't from a country you know, cause it could mean a completely different thing than what you thought.
– BakuriuOct 29 '14 at 17:32

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@Bakuriu: And other people just make it up as stage names. Dr Fox immediately comes to mind, as does Professor Green as a linked example. Never take anything for granted.
– Lightness Races in OrbitOct 29 '14 at 17:33

13 Answers
13

You can't immediately tell from the title, but then titles are not typically used by an individual to broadcast their occupation - we don't have variants of "Mr" for plumbers, bank managers, or rock stars - despite their very different occupations. Rather, the title is to be used by others when addressing that individual, in order to signify a degree of respect, typically for a particular level of training, qualification and responsibility, or else for a particularly respected position in society. Even the term "mister" is a meaningful sign of respect that historically would not have been as widely applied as it is today - the ratchet of etiquette has gradually eliminated everything below it.

The actual title "Doctor" means "teacher" (from Latin "doceo", "I teach"). This title is more often more relevant to PhDs than MDs, so you probably have your suggested solution backwards. That said, the solution is really neither necessary nor appropriate. Much like "Master" (from Latin "magister", in this case "teacher"), "Doctor" signifies that an individual has not only gained enough competency to practice in a particular field, but has developed enough expertise to instruct others. An individual who is sufficiently qualified to practice but not teach would historically have been known as a "journeyman", roughly equivalent to "professional".

In short "doctor" refers not to a field of expertise, but rather to a level of expertise.

Incidentally, most UK surgeons drop their title of "Dr" and revert to "Mr" after joining the Royal College of Surgeons. I've heard through a friend of at least one surgeon who reacted quite angrily at being addressed as a mere "Dr", which in such circles, due to a collision between traditional titles and modern medical training, could be unkindly translated as "trainee".

You can't. That's why there are numerous jokes in English-speaking culture about whether someone addressed as "doctor" is a "real" doctor or not. Medical doctors are supposed to be the "real" ones in the jokes.

For personal correspondence, both are addressed as "Dr." as with an invitation addressed to "Dr. and Mrs. Smith." (Or maybe "Dr. and Mr. Smith." If they both hold doctorates, it is "Drs. Smith." For a couple with different family names, use "Dr. Smith and Mr. Brown.")

For professional correspondence, both are addressed by name and degree, as "James Smith, M.D." or "Bob Brown, Ph.D."

Since the distinction is only relevant in professional interactions, there really isn't any ambiguity.

If you are speaking to a medical doctor professionally, you will know it by the setting, and you still say "doctor." If you ask for medical advice at a cocktail party because someone was introduced as "doctor" you deserve anything you get! I've been known to say, "I'm a college teacher type doctor, not a take-off-your-clothes doctor." That usually sends the message and often gets a laugh.

I am not a medical doctor, but I often work in hospital settings interacting with both patients and medical doctors so the setting is not always informative.
– StrongBad♦Oct 31 '14 at 11:36

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I know a microbiologist and a physicist who work in a hospital. Their degrees appear on their ID badges, as do those of medical doctors.
– Bob BrownOct 31 '14 at 11:46

This was edited by "Anonymous" to introduce irrelevant commentary about women taking husbands' names. The commentary on the edit also incorrectly stated that more women than men earn doctorates. In the United States, at least, that is incorrect. From the 2014 SED: "Overall, women earned 46% of all doctorates in 2014."
– Bob BrownNov 29 '16 at 14:24

The same applies to the people holding Engineering doctorates such as Name Family, EngD. or holding doctorate in business such as DBA. Also, in different countries there are usually different doctorate titles (link) awarded.

A medical practitioner usually holds a MBBS or MD degree or similar and - at a reasonable level of proficiency - membership of a professional body such as the AMA ( American Medical Association) or the RCP ( Royal College of Physicians) or whatever applies in their part of the world.

A holder of an academic doctorate ( PhD, DrPh, EngD etc) has researched a topic or problem within their specific subject in sufficient depth to have generated fresh insights or made a breakthrough or contributed significant new knowledge to the existing corpus.

Both have earned the right to be addressed as 'Dr'.

However, it would appear to me that one or two posters have been watching a few too many episodes of 'The Big Bang Theory' as I think the need to differentiate between the two very rarely applies except in a medical emergency.

While both have the title of "doctor," that is identifying the fact that they both have the same education level, a doctorate.

The meaningful difference here is occupation: one might be a professor, the other a physician.

To differentiate between the two you can use the actual doctorate type or the job title:

My professor is Dr. Jones. (or) Dr. Jones teaches my class.

My physician is Dr. Smith.

Indiana Jones, Ph.D.

Joe Smith, M.D.

Of course a physician could also be a professor (who teaches in medical school?), or an M.D. might be a researcher who does not treat patients as their primary means of income (i.e. they only deal with patients during the course of medical studies). I do not think you can do much about those cases.

In Germany, it is common to denote the subject area the doctor was obtained in, such as Dr. med. for medical doctors, Dr.-Ing. for engineers, or Dr.-rer-nat. (rerum naturalium) for sciences like chemistry.

Doctor means you have a doctorate. Simple as that, a medic can have a doctorate in medicine and thus be a doctor, but if you do not have the degree then you are not a doctor, you can be a surgeon or a licensee of medicine but you are just referred to as doctor out of colloquial use of the title based on historical rots and customs.

The confusing aspect is that doctor connotes medical treatment to most people, not a doctoral degree. Anyone smart enough to have a PhD knows the difference. I would not want a PhD doing my surgery, nor an MD teaching me philosophy.

It's not an easy question to answer. Ph.D's who are professors are just called "professor," and research assistants with a Ph.D are called "doctor" by secretaries and students. Titles are never mentioned in academic papers.

It's different with doctors: Patients and nurses call them "doctor;" if they are also professors, which they often are, the are called "professor" since professors have a higher status than mere M.D.s, and when they write papers in medical journals they put M.D. after their names. When practitioners without an M.D. refer to themselves as "doctor" they are just called "frauds."

Things are much more interesting in Germany. I was treated there by a woman doctor in a University Hospital who was also a professor of medicine. Her title was Frau Dr. Med, Dr. Professor Mueller. Some Professors have three degrees, meaning that are called Herr (or Frau) Dr. Dr. Dr. Professor.

I have never heard medical school Professors introduce themselves to patients as Professor. In the UK holders of a Bachelors in Medical Science (BMedSci) call themselves doctor and it is not fraud.
– StrongBad♦Oct 31 '14 at 11:41

Titles are never mentioned in academic papers — ...in some disciplines. In others, they are mentioned quite prominently.
– JeffEApr 25 '15 at 3:43

Hi Rucikir, welcome to Academia.SE. Your answer does not really answer the question. Basically you are explaining how to say Albert Einstein, PhD in French, which is not what the OP is asking.
– earthlingOct 30 '14 at 10:47

Well, I just didn't know if it could be used in English, apparently not, so it was irrelevant. Thanks for pointing it out. Sorry. But I'm not the only one to have done that, other answer about the German way.
– Antonin DécimoOct 31 '14 at 23:53

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